Black-headed monitor | |
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Freckled monitor (V. t. orientalis) | |
Black-headed monitor (V. t. tristis) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Varanidae |
Genus: | Varanus |
Subgenus: | Odatria |
Species: | V. tristis
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Binomial name | |
Varanus tristis Schlegel, 1839
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Subspecies | |
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Natural range of the black-headed monitor |
The black-headed monitor or black-tailed monitor (Varanus tristis) is a relatively small species of monitor lizards native to Australia. It is occasionally also called the mournful monitor, freckled monitor (Varanus tristis orientalis) or the racehorse monitor,[2] a name it shares with the Gould's monitor due to their exceptional speed. It is placed in the subgenus Odatria.[3]